Interesting prompts ...
to start a conversation going ...
as and when you might need one ...
a diversion to talk about

Sunday, 26 August 2012

Nobel Prizes ...

The
Nobel Prizes came to my mind when I was thinking about gold medals and Susan
Roebuck’s query wondering why there was not a gold medal for literature ...
which as she said I answered in my Cultural Olympiad post.

Nobel Prize

Alfred
Nobel (1833 – 1896) is remembered for dynamite and the Nobel Prizes ... but the
family’s background is interesting ... he was the third son born in Sweden into a
family of engineers becoming a chemist, engineer and inventor.

His
father lost his engineering business in St Petersburg and with his wife and two
younger children (Alfred and Emil) moved back to Sweden.

Montage: St Petersburg

Ludvig
(the 2nd eldest) stayed on in St Petersburg opening up an
engineering factory producing cast-iron shells, which then became the largest
manufacturer of gun carriages in Russia.

While
running the factory, Ludvig asked their elder brother, Robert, to explore
southern Russia for wood to make gun stocks for the Tsar’s military
requirements. Robert found oil instead,
and in 1876 they set up a distillery in Baku, Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea.

Baku 1861

Alfred had
joined in the various family engineering ventures in Sweden and Russia, Emil,
the youngest brother, had too – but was killed in an explosion during an
experiment.

Ludvig
Nobel was a strong humanitarian as well as business man, full of ideas and
vision. He introduced profit sharing and
worked actively to improve working conditions in his factories. His humanity and social approach was unique
for the time.

The
Nobel brothers must have influenced each other greatly for this humanitarian
legacy to be thought about let alone put into practice. Alfred’s fluency in languages, notably
English, French, German and Russian brought other attributes to the table.

They
invented all manner of things that are invaluable today ... plywood being one
of them ... oil tankers, and better refineries, pipelines ... and of course
explosives.

...
their Wikipedia pages make interesting reading on the development of the oil
industry via their investments in Baku and give an insight into life in
Scandinavia/ Eastern Europe/ Western Asia in the 1800s ... before the Russia we
know today came into existence.

Alfred
amassed a fortune during his lifetime, with most of his wealth coming from his
355 inventions and investments, of which dynamite is the most famous ... but he
also invented ballistite, a precursor to many smokeless military explosives,
especially the British smokeless powder ‘cordite’.

The
Nobel prizes came about by one of those unintended circumstances ... in 1888, Alfred
was astonished to read his own obituary, titled “The merchant of death is dead”, in a French newspaper.

Montage of Baku, Azerbaijan

As it
was Alfred’s brother, Ludvig, who had died, Alfred’s obituary was eight years
premature ... but this inspired him to change his will ... he did not want to
be remembered as the merchant of death
...

In his
will, 1895, the Swedish philanthropist inventor Alfred Nobel established the
disposition of prizes .... for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine,
Literature, while the Peace prize came into being in 1901.

The
family agreed to Alfred’s investment in Baku being withdrawn, and this along
with his Swedish fortune enabled the Nobel Prizes to be established.

The Peace Prize logo

Their
administration and management is under the auspices of the Nobel Foundation,
set up in 1900 ... while the selection of candidates and ultimate prize
winner/s (maximum of 3 for any one category) is overseen by the various
professional Swedish and Norwegian Committees.

So it
has been for over a century that Nobel’s desire for a better legacy has been
these prizes for those who confer the “greatest benefit of mankind” in the five
categories ...

The
journey from Olympia acknowledging sporting, artistic or cultural triumph rewarded
with olive and laurel wreaths, to Nobel Prizes measured in millions of dollars received by
candidates whose research has benefited mankind, to sporting records, perhaps
an Olympic medal, and who, we hope sincerely, will encourage all citizens to lead the best life possible for the benefit of all ...
perhaps ultimately to a Nobel Peace Prize ...

Fate played an important role, didn't it? If the premature obituary hadn't been written, Alfred might not have changed his mind about the Baku project. Amazing. I didn't know any of that except that he was Swedish (hence, probably, the family's humanitarianism). The world needs more Nobel families. Thanks for the post!

Very interesting post, Hilary! I found it interesting that the Nobel brothers were also strong humanitarians--Ludvig was certainly well ahead of his time in seeing the need for good working conditions. Of course we know today that it increases productivity, but that wasn't something many though of back then.

They certainly had a variety of interests and brilliant minds. I think the Noble Prize foundation was a way to also honor the family's accomplishments too. The need to recognize what questing minds can do.

As a half-Swede (American mother, Scotch-Irish descent) and 100% Swedish Dad, I've always felt proud that the Nobel Prizes came originally from Sweden. However, I didn't know the history at all. Thanks for serving it up in such a deliciously digestible version! Tina @ Life is Good

@ OceanGirl - we often don't think of things do we - so I'm glad you appreciated this information ..

@ Ciara - what a strange co-incidence ... I'm glad he's still with us. Gosh how uncomfortable for him ... The Nobel family certainly changed life as we know it .. in many ways.

@ Sia - glad you picked up the humanitarian aspects .. I thought they were worth putting in - and today we are paying more attention to working conditions aren't we - if we could get everyone to live happily ever after in compassion and care for all then we'd achieve something. Be prepared to see others' point of view.

The Nobel family were very accomplished weren't they .. and it's good to see the acknowledgements for their achievements.

I like your phrase .. "the need to recognise what questing minds can do".

@ Tina - I wondered if you'd pick this up - home from home! Glad it made sense .. quite difficult geographically 150 years ago ... but interesting to find out more about.

@ Friko - it must have shocked him .. and what a jolt into action it was to be able to recognise those whose ideas are benefiting others.

@ Annalisa - like you say .. such an important legacy with the recognition of work done by others .. thankfully he saw the early obituary.

@ Joylene - that child thing .. the Nobel brothers were very industrious from the word go - all encouraged to learn new things .. his parents strived, failed, succeeded, and travelled and tried new things ... he was encouraged (being the 3rd child helped) to broaden his horizons .. but they were obviously very clever.

@ Gina - good to see you .. and glad you enjoyed the post

Thanks Friko, Annalisa, Joylene and Gina .. good to see you - cheers Hilary

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About Me

A lover of life – who after London, spent time in South Africa; an administrator, sports lover, who enjoys cooking and entertaining ... who through her mother’s illness found a new passion – writing, in particular blogging; which provides an opportunity for future exploration, by the daughter, who has (in her 3rd age years) found a love of historical education. Curiosity didn’t kill this cat – interaction is the key!